December 3, 2024 • 42 mins
Our guest today is Laura Youngson, the co-founder of Ida Sports, the world’s leading female sports footwear brand that recently received $2M in investment funding.
Laura is a huge advocate for gender equality and in 2017, led a group of women to the top of Kilimanjaro to play a record-breaking football match with Equal Playing Field.
The trip highlighted a common problem facing female players all over the world: their boots were made for men, or children, and left their feet in pain long after the final whistle blew.
Laura went on to co-found Ida Sports which launched its first boot for female players in 2020 and since that time the brand’s continued to innovate and drive change in the sector.
This brilliant episode explores Laura’s diverse career path – before founding Ida Sports Laura worked as a senior policy advisor for the UK Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and in event management for major sports events including the London Olympics and the European Games.
Our conversation highlights the ongoing struggle for gender equality in sport and the innovative steps that are being taken to create a more inclusive environment for women and girls.
Laura openly shares the challenges and opportunities in designing sportswear specifically for women, the response from retailers, and the importance of fundraising for growth.
We discuss the wonderful collaboration taking place amongst female entrepreneurs in this space and the impact of motherhood on Laura’s own entrepreneurial journey.
Thank you to Sport England who support The Game Changers Podcast with a National Lottery award.
Find out more about The Game Changers podcast here: https://www.fearlesswomen.co.uk/thegamechangers
Hosted by Sue Anstiss
Produced by Sam Walker, What Goes On Media
A Fearless Women production
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sue Anstiss (00:03):
Hello and welcome to The Game Changers.
I'm Sue Anstiss, and this isthe podcast where you'll hear
from trailblazing women in sportwho are knocking down barriers
and challenging the status quofor women and girls everywhere.
What can we learn from theirjourneys as we explore key
issues around equality in sportand beyond?
I'd like to start with a verybig thank you to our partners,
(00:24):
Sport England, who support TheGame Changers podcast through a
national lottery award.
I'm excited to say that in this, the 18th series of T he Game
Changers, I'm talking tofounders and entrepreneurs the
women who have set uporganisations that help change
the landscape for all women andgirls in sport.
My guest today is LauraYoungson.
(00:48):
Laura is the co-founder of IdaSports and a huge advocate for
gender equality.
Laura previously worked as asenior policy advisor for the UK
Department of Business,innovation and Skills and in
event management for majorsports events like the London
Olympics and the European Games.
In 2017, Laura led a group ofwomen to the top of Kilimanjaro
(01:10):
to play a record-breakingfootball match with equal
playing field.
The trip highlighted a commonproblem facing female players
all over the world that theirboots were made for men or
children and left their feet inpain long after the final
whistle blew, Laura went on toco-found Ida Sports, which
launched its first football bootfor female players in 2020, and
(01:33):
since that time, the brandscontinue to innovate and drive
change in the sector, and I'mdelighted to say that it's just
been announced that Ida hasreceived $2 million of
investment funding.
So, Laura, you've had such adiverse and fascinating career,
but where did it all start foryou?
Can you tell us about where yougrew up and how sport was a
(01:54):
part of your young?
Laura Youngson (01:56):
life.
So I grew up in Gloucester,actually in the southwest of
England very sort of regularchildhood, but spent a lot of it
outdoors and we're very luckyto have the Forest of Dean on
our doorstep, um, here.
So, just you know, get outside,go play in the mud, go cycle,
go do these things.
And at school I I played a lotof sport.
(02:16):
I was really passionate aboutballet growing up, so I did a
lot of ballet, um, and almostwent down that route as a career
, but actually decided onphysics, which is another story.
But, yeah, got to play in allthe school teams and was one of
those kids that the teacherswould be like hey, we need to
make up the numbers on whateverteam.
(02:37):
Here you go, have fun.
So I had a couple of memorableexperiences, like playing the
number two for England atbadminton when I was about 13.
I hadn't really playedbadminton, you know.
So give it a go, got a coupleof points, and that my mum was
very proud, uh, that I could dothat you mentioned the physics
there, but your education wasreally diverse too.
Sue Anstiss (02:57):
So you've got a master's in entrepreneurship
from the University of Melbourneand a master's in physics from
Durham University.
So what were your?
What were your career plans?
Laura Youngson (03:06):
I didn't really think much further than
university, to be honest, butI've always loved politics with
a small p, and so after Igraduated, I got a job with the
fast stream, the civil servicefast stream, so which you go and
work for the governmentdepartments, and that was a
really cool experience becauseyou get to meet lots of
interesting people and you getrotated around the department,
(03:27):
so you get to learn all abouthow the machinery of government
works, and it was a reallyfascinating time because we were
about to have a change ofgovernment from Labour to
Conservative.
I started when it was thefinancial crisis, so again,
there's all these pressures thatyou're living through, and so,
to be kind of at the start of mycareer, learning about
government and those experienceswas amazing and I got some
(03:51):
great opportunities.
So there was an opportunity Iwent and worked in the embassy
in Sao Paulo or the consulate inSao Paulo, and one of the cool
projects I worked on wasbringing genetically modified
mosquitoes to clinical trials inBrazil.
So that was pretty cool.
And then then had thisopportunity when I got back that
they said, hey, we're lookingfor secondes to go work on
London 2012 the Olympics and soI was like, oh yeah, pick me,
(04:14):
pick me, and so ended upspending a year in that
organization, which was amazing,getting to work with all the
diplomats and just oversee thepreparations for this incredible
event that took over London.
Sue Anstiss (04:29):
And how did your career progress from there then,
in terms of onwards from London2012?
Laura Youngson (04:35):
Well, I have a habit of shaking things up if it
gets too ordinary.
So actually my now husband andI we went to work and run a
hotel in Mozambique for a year.
So actually my now husband andI we went to work and run a
hotel in Mozambique for a yearwhich was like faulty towers in
the sunshine Just an amazinglybeautiful place, just incredibly
difficult to run because you'rethree hours from the nearest
(04:56):
city, five star guests, but withkind of I don't know very
rustic, like a sand road to getto the hotel and that kind of
thing.
So I think I learned aboutseven years of life in that one
year from doing that, so thesekind of really fun, challenging
experiences and got offered theopportunity to go and work for a
(05:17):
year in Azerbaijan on theEuropean Games and that was
amazing as well.
Just for any of the sport peoplethat worked there.
It was just a fascinatinginsight into a country that was
rapidly changing and very youngpopulation that were getting
trained with all the skills thatnow you see them as a power
that runs multiple sportingevents.
So spending time in lots ofthese different cultures I think
(05:39):
has been for me like a superfascinating part of my career
being able to learn newlanguages, generally have a
little bit of knowledge I callmyself a Jill of all trades a
little bit of knowledge abouteverything, not too deep on
anything other than shoes, buteverything else.
So I guess I'm pretty sure I'vecome across that at some point
in my career in the introduction.
Sue Anstiss (06:05):
there In 2017, you led a group of women to the top
of Mount Kilimanjaro to play arecord-breaking game of football
, which went on to become thehighest altitude game of
football ever played, and set aGuinness World Record in the
process too.
So what led you to that?
How do you come about settingsomething like that up?
Laura Youngson (06:18):
Yeah, it's one of those.
I have these ideas and theyjust pop into my head sometimes
and this one had been sort of Iwas so fed up with just seeing,
I think I saw a stat thatthere's more stories about
horses than women in the sportspages and I was like, oh, are
you kidding me?
Like is this going to change inmy lifetime?
Because where are my heroesthat I get to to read about?
(06:38):
I really love women's sport.
What can we do?
And so I called up a friend andwe sort of I had this idea like
, oh, we should go do something.
Great you know what?
We'll go and play football atthe top of Kilimanjaro.
That will show them.
And we like we don't really knowwho they were and who we were
at that point, but as soon as itkind of started snowballing, we
were put in touch with womenacross the world.
(07:01):
So we ended up taking peoplefrom sort of 30 nationalities,
all different levels of the game, absolutely like a wonderful
mix of people from across thespectrum of of global football,
and to try and do something thathad never been done before.
And and I think I had thismoment when the goals hadn't
arrived and we were two days outfrom playing the match and they
(07:22):
were getting sort of careeredup the hill because you had to
take everything up and then takeeverything down because it's a
national park.
And I was just sort of sittingthere looking out and I was like
what the hell have I done?
Like, what am I doing?
I've convinced like 60 peopleto come climb a mountain to play
a football game.
It just like are we crazy?
But it was such a testament tothe strength of the group that
(07:46):
it was never in doubt.
Everyone was just like nope,we're going to do it.
It's really hard, we're goingto make it happen and made such
a wonderful impact as a resultof it.
So, yeah, I kind of describeworld records as my side hobby.
Now.
It's a thing we do to have funand relax.
Sue Anstiss (08:02):
I love hearing from the women that have been on
those record-breaking eventswith you.
I think the connections you'vebuilt, the women I've come
across just across the sector inthe years that have been
involved in them as well too.
Laura Youngson (08:14):
I think it's been life-changing for a lot of
people.
We sort of keep in touch withwhoever came through to the
records and I found it reallyhilarious because I was in on a
zoom call with someone even justsort of recently and and they
had their medal from one of oneof the world records and I was
like wait, did you, have youdone a world record?
Sue Anstiss (08:32):
yeah, that's brilliant and uh so it's just
amazing kind of seeing wherethose connections have led and I
know we often talk about originstories and I kind of see that
linked to the development of Ida, but was it from that event
that you were inspired to createa female football boot?
Laura Youngson (08:50):
It was one of those spaces and times when
there was no signal on themountain, and so you get there
very few times, when youcompletely disconnect from the
modern world, and so we had totalk to each other and it was
this.
We had these wonderfulconversations and one of the
things that sort of kept comingup for me was this niggle of
like I would always be.
I was so annoyed that I washaving to wear kid shoes to play
(09:12):
on a world record match and Iwas chatting to all these
players and just everyone kindof came up with was saying the
same things and I was startingto think well, it's not just me,
it's someone else as wellthat's having this experience,
and then, kind of off the backof going, oh, we've just
organized a record game, now wecan do anything.
I think that's what led me tobe like oh well, I'll just start
a shoe company, you know, thenwe'll solve that easy.
Sue Anstiss (09:36):
But hindsight's obviously slightly different and
how did we get to 2020 beforesomebody had done that?
I was thinking more about thisbefore talking to you.
There's clearly a huge marketin female running shoes, and if
I went into a sport shop now, ifI went into a shoe shop, I
wouldn't shop in the men'saisles, I would shop for women's
shoes.
So why had no one thought tocreate a football boot for women
(10:00):
?
Laura Youngson (10:00):
It's really been a mixture of sort of the men's
game was so dominant.
Women were just always thisafterthought, like, oh, did
women play?
I don't know, I don't know, youknow, that was that sort of
attitude towards it, whereas thepeople that were playing were
really enjoying the game.
You could see it bubbling up,like it.
To me it's no surprise that weended up with sold out crowds at
(10:22):
the euros.
It was like years in the makingthis popularity of the game,
but I think it was.
I spoke to some peopleafterwards and and they tried to
do a boot at nike in the sortof late 90s, and I spoke to the
sort of researchers who were abit traumatized by the
experience because they theymade a shoe but they made it
pink.
Then the athlete didn't want towear it and you're like, well,
(10:43):
yeah, duh, um, there's sort oflike I wouldn't draw the
conclusion that the the shoeisn't needed.
I'd perhaps draw it that itdoesn't need to be pink, but I
think there's a mixture of thetiming being right that the game
was growing.
There was also definitely amovement of people starting to
not put up with it, like, oh,I'm having to wear rolled up boy
(11:05):
shorts, although arguably thisstill happens, and then just
this timing of like, I think itcaught a lot the bigger brands
on a bit unawares, but for me itseemed like such a logical
thing.
Like we have women's runningshoes, so scientifically we need
different shoes, why aren'tthere football and and it's I'm
picking into that kind ofsocietal reasons that really,
(11:28):
even more so than the science,led me down this path of like,
well, we, we need to have thisand it does seem very obvious
from a young girl's perspective.
Sue Anstiss (11:36):
If you went into a shoe shop right now, what would
their experience be like to findtheir, their boots?
Laura Youngson (11:42):
well, it's still you see, you've got men's,
you've got kids, and often ifthey ask, oh, have you got
women's or girls?
No, or maybe.
Or there's sort of this unisexshoe that's pink and it is
starting to change, but I justthink it must be so
disheartening if you're a 10year old and you're going in and
(12:03):
you want it to be thisincredibly special experience in
the sport that you're playing,that you love, in this sport
that you're playing that youlove, um, and instead you're
faced with kind of likeindifference or something that
oh well, try this, it's theleast worst option.
Um, I don't see how that'sinspiring for someone to stay in
the sport and and especiallyknowing what we know about kind
(12:24):
of teenage girls dropping out ata higher rate um, and you want
to build that lifelong passionfor sport.
I mean, this is why I startedthe business to try and change
just even that expectation ofwhat it is to be a female
footballer.
Sue Anstiss (12:38):
And what are the key differences in terms of the
design differences, from an Idaboot to a traditional men's
football boot?
Laura Youngson (12:46):
So some of the stuff that I researched at the
very beginning was very muchavailable in the public domain.
So women in general tend tohave narrower heels, um, so we
slip around in the men's shoes.
We tend to have wider toe box,or the shape of our foot is
different, and so that manifestsitself as like pain in your
little toe, tend to have higherarches, so the insoles don't
(13:09):
necessarily provide you thesupport.
And then the biggest one thatreally kind of was like oh yeah,
duh moment for me was our hipsare different.
They're set further apart thanmen's in general, and so how
you're interacting with theground, especially when you're
wearing studs, has to bedifferent, because you're you're
landing differently, how womenjump and land is different, and
(13:30):
so there's a lot of kind of Iwould call it like basic science
that made me think well, look,we need something different for
female physiology and weobviously are hearing more and
more now about acl injuries.
Sue Anstiss (13:45):
It feels like it's becoming more widely discussed,
but obviously an issue for along, long time anyway.
But how much do you think thatis around that boot to surface
connection or other causes too?
Laura Youngson (13:57):
So it's really like a mix of factors and that's
what everyone's trying tounderstand at the moment and I
think, where I come at it,there's stuff that you can do to
like fifa 11 plus is shown asone of the best training like
preventative methods to reducethe risk of acl and that's sort
of your neuromuscular strengthand conditioning.
(14:19):
I think, where we come at it, wewant to know the most about
surfaces and boots, and I'veseen so much innovation that can
be made in shoes to reduce therisk of non-contact ACLs and
that's what we're putting thattech into our shoes.
It might not be the biggestfactor, but there's definitely.
If you're looking at increasingperformance and reducing your
(14:42):
risks, then you should belooking at everything and that's
one of the elements of it.
So I think that we could.
If everyone's wearing stuffthat's made of the the elements
of it, so I think that we could.
If everyone's wearing stuffthat's made for them, I think we
are going to start to see areduction in risk.
I don't think you're ever goingto eliminate it, but it's.
I think if you're able to getbring some of those numbers down
.
Sue Anstiss (15:01):
That's really what everyone's trying to do and, as
you say, we are seeing moreresearch now.
So from FIFA and UEFA there is.
It does feel like peopletalking about there's more
investment going in there.
Is it enough, and what morewould you like to see in that
space?
Laura Youngson (15:15):
It's almost like we're just scratching the
surface.
So I don't know if you saw oryour listeners have heard of the
European Club Association didan amazing study where they they
went and looked at all theprofessional female players
across Europe and establishedthat 82% have pain or discomfort
with their boots when they play.
So then, okay, well, this is awidespread problem, it's not
just a small amount of people.
(15:37):
And then you sort of go well,what's the answer?
And then what about this andwhat about this element?
And I think it's all of thosekind of questions that we've
only just started scratching thesurface and we've got the
headline, which is quiteshocking.
But then you need the fundingto then get the answers and go
to your point.
Is it your menstrual cycle, oris it your shoes, or is it a
(15:59):
combination of these things?
And what does that actually meanfor you personally?
Because your physiologicalresponse might be quite
different to someone else's.
In that sense, the fact thatthere is still this ambiguity
around the problem means thatthere should be more investment,
because then I think I mean, atthe end of the day, everyone
just kind of wants to get on andplay right, but if you're
(16:22):
having all these barriers andall these kind of areas that are
without your control, then it'sreally hard to get to that
point where you're just playingand enjoying the game when
you're having to think, oh well,wait, do I need to wear this
and what do I need to thinkabout here?
And you know, am I wearing theright kit and all of these
things?
So I'm sure that if we didinvest further, like you're
(16:44):
going to see massive strikes inthe in, in what we know is a as
a kind of set of humans and whatwas the process like from when
you had your idea and you kindof created and designed the shoe
to actually having your firstprototype?
yeah, it's really funny.
It are the first shoe I cookedin the kitchen.
(17:07):
This is proper shoe dog story,and you know like made a mold
and then worked out what was theoutsole and did this and we now
call it the franken shoebecause it looks so horrendous.
Um, and this, this wonderfulfranken shoe, has been on tour
to like the design museum andthe fifa museum and things like
this.
I always look at it.
I'm like, oh, it looks sohorrendous.
(17:29):
But basically, when you're, whenyou're building a product,
first thing kind of get aprototype, but then you really
need to quite quickly find somemanufacturing partners and
there's a lot of elements ofshoe making that I've learned
along the way that really makeit so crucial.
So, step one you need a last,which is the mold around which
you build the shoe, and you needto what your outside is going
(17:49):
to look like, what the patternis for the upper, what different
materials making all thosechoices.
So I actually I went to CantonFair in China when I began,
which is this huge, huge fair,and and just literally walked
the halls and learned aboutshoes and I spent all my time
asking questions and learningabout materials and learning
(18:09):
about the different propertiesand why someone was doing a
particular thing andsimultaneously just reading lots
of scientific papers and doinga bunch of measurements in order
to kind of go, hey, all right,this isn't the answer.
This is my answer that I thinkis better than whatever is out
there at the moment, and we'vecome a long way since that first
(18:31):
prototype.
But it's really that researchand discovery phase, that
learning from first principles,like, okay, let's try something
that hasn't been done before.
How do we build it together andput together an idea?
Sue Anstiss (18:43):
And how much did your background in physics and
your kind of researching help inthat process?
Do you feel?
I think super valuable.
Laura Youngson (18:50):
So studying physics means you're not really
scared of problems, because youjust have to keep breaking them
down to their constituent partsand everything is ultimately
solvable, you hope, and so I amnot scared of a science paper.
I know enough to be dangerous,right.
So I can keep asking why I'vegot other people around me who
(19:11):
have much more expertise.
But I can keep being annoyingand asking why, until the point
when either there is an answeror there isn't an answer and we
actually need to go and find outwhat the answer is.
And similarly, when you'retalking about materials or what
properties that you're trying tocreate in the shoes, that's
where it becomes invaluable,because then you can sort of
design the protocols that you'retrying to create in the shoes.
That's where it becomesinvaluable, because then you can
(19:32):
sort of design the protocolsthat you need to test and to
make sure you're producingsomething that's really high
performance.
Sue Anstiss (19:39):
And where did the name and the logo come from?
Laura Youngson (19:42):
So we chose the name as a nod to Ida B Wells,
who's a civil rights activist inthe US.
And I was actually inWashington at the Smithsonian,
and I saw the exhibit for Ida BWells, who's a civil rights
activist in the US, and I wasactually in Washington at the
Smithsonian.
I saw the exhibit for Ida BWells and said, oh, this is so
exciting, the kind of it's notto like being an activist and
you know changing things andstanding up for what you believe
(20:03):
in.
And then we created the wavesymbol that is our logo as a nod
to the Kilimanjaro.
So the world records, somountains and our second world
record, the lowest altitudematch at the Dead Sea.
But then also this wave ofchange, a thread running between
it.
So can we bring everyonetogether and and have a wave of
(20:24):
change that it doesn't alwayscome at once.
You know it's.
It's pushing there at the tides, and, and you're getting these
ripple effects.
And so it's pushing there atthe tides and and you're getting
these ripple effects, and so itmight take time, but you're
bringing more and more peoplewith you.
Sue Anstiss (20:35):
I love that.
That's lovely.
And um, how did the rest of thesportswear footwear industry
respond to Ida coming into themarket?
Laura Youngson (20:46):
uh, well, we hear from our frenemies in the
brands, so some of them love us.
And especially, we've heardfrom a lot of frenemies who are
like we're so glad you exist,because we've been asking about
this for years.
And that's been reallywonderful because we've had a
lot of unsolicited help alongthe way from people that just
want the idea to exist and tocome to life.
And then we know that thebigger brands in some cases like
(21:10):
, obviously they try anddiscredit you or, you know, do
that.
I think at some point you justwant to be really annoying, you
know, get in the way and besuper, super annoying so that
things do actually change.
And we are starting to see that.
We heard that some of the themost recent, uh, big brand
developments were directly as aresult of IDA existing.
So that for me is a reallywonderful thing that, as a tiny
(21:35):
company, we can sway the biggestcorporations on this planet to
invest in female athletes andproduce gear that's really, you
know, fit for purpose.
Sue Anstiss (21:47):
I did see something about Nike designing a football
shoe with females in mind.
A process took up to threeyears, but it's really hard to
get that answer out into thepublic domain.
Laura Youngson (22:15):
But it's definitely been frustrating to
watch and obviously we call itout whenever we see it.
But if you're producingsomething that's made for women,
then you really need to make itdifferent to the thing that
you're producing that's made formen, because all of our
research is kind of pointing inthat direction.
You can't, on the one hand, saywomen and men are different and
in your running department, butthen say that they're exactly
(22:38):
the same when they run on afootball pitch that's so true,
isn't it?
Sue Anstiss (22:43):
I do remember when harlequins played the big game
at twickenham a couple of yearsago, the women's rugby team were
in this really ill-fitting,oversized kit and when the
manufacturer was called out onsocial media, they said it's
because they were unisex.
And then somebody respondedlike oh, I'd like to see Jo
Marlow in a women's size, 14,fit top, whatever.
How would he feel about that?
Laura Youngson (23:03):
not him particularly, but just like put
the men in women's kit then, ifit's truly unisex right, exactly
, I think there's there's justbeen such a disparity and
actually it doesn't need to belike that.
I think what we're proving isthat there's a commercial
proposition here, like we're nota charity.
I didn't start this business tobe like, oh yay, we're a
charity, we made wonderful shoes.
(23:24):
No, like, commercially, we wantto be taking market share and
proving that there is a marketfor women's products and gear
that's made for women.
Sue Anstiss (23:33):
And what's the response been like from the
retailers in terms of gettinglistings in those major
retailers?
What's that process been like?
Laura Youngson (23:41):
So in the US it's been fantastic, and so we
have a number of amazingretailers over there that we
work with.
So Dick's Sporting Goods is oneof the biggest ones.
They're, they're brilliantsoccercom, um, and we just
started branching out into abunch of others in the us and
it's been fantastic to grow withthem.
Their, their buyers are verymuch like yeah, we get this, we
(24:02):
see it and and we see oursell-throughs in the, in those
stores and online increasing.
Elsewhere in the world it's beenslower to change and especially
, I think the uk, for me, hasbeen really like particularly
disappointing up till now.
You just think you've been, Idon't know the, the, the
appetite should be there becausewe've had the euros and we've.
(24:23):
We get people asking us and andgoing into these sports stores
and that, like dad ofnine-year-old daughter goes into
sports store and can't findwhat he needs.
You know that happens on aweekly basis and yet they don't
really want to enter into theconversations.
So we're hoping that just keepgrowing, keep being annoying,
and then you can actually startto to reach into the retail
(24:44):
listing and get elsewhere.
But part of the, the challenge,is just kicking open the doors,
and so it's been interestingcomparing and contrasting the
maturity of the market in the USwith the UK and Europe as well.
Sue Anstiss (24:59):
It's a bit weird, though, isn't it, when you think
that you're the only.
For a long time, you're theonly brand that was in this
space.
You almost feel like your doorkicking down your door to get
you in, to diversify, as a newopportunity to sell more shoes.
Laura Youngson (25:13):
A hundred percent.
I mean, you couldn't have saidit better than yourself, and
that is the argument we do make.
But we find that more and morepeople are coming to the table
as we grow and as the biggerbrands start to produce or
attempt to produce.
Women's gear actually has abenefit, positive benefit for us
, because we find our searchesincrease and so pushing by every
(25:35):
means possible to change theindustry and change the market
and what is the hardest part foryou right now in terms of pinch
points?
Sue Anstiss (25:42):
is it around product development and listings
and growth and marketing?
You know, you know, I realizeit's all involved, isn't it?
But are there specific areas?
I mean up, and if you'd askedme a month ago, it's all
involved, isn't?
Laura Youngson (25:50):
it.
But are there specific areas?
I mean, if you'd asked me amonth ago, it's fundraising and
access to capital.
Well, fortunately we've raiseda round, which is amazing
because that enables us toactually invest in marketing and
invest in key areas forsell-through and the retailers.
But some of the biggest kind ofthings is just that access to
capital, trade financing, allthe things as a product company,
(26:11):
you need to think aboutlogistics operations, that kind
of things is just that access tocapital, trade financing, all
the things as a product company,you need to think about
logistics operations, that kindof stuff.
And so now we're just ensuringthat we get the word out.
So we've made great gear,people that buy it, love it,
wear it, give us great reviews,and so then it's about finding
more of those people who perhapseven haven't heard of us.
(26:31):
Us and if you're living in thesport bubble, you can sometimes
say, oh yeah, everyone's heardabout us, but actually there's
loads of people that are comingacross us as new customers and
going, oh wow, I didn't evenknow you were here.
This is amazing.
So that that's probably thebiggest thing that we're focused
on at the moment is justreaching more people, and then
they tell more people and youget this, this wonderful
(26:54):
virtuous circle where you canthen get into more retailers and
and at some point we will cracksome of the retailers here- and
massive congratulations ongetting that investment round.
Sue Anstiss (27:05):
I mean that is absolutely huge.
It was lovely, as you say, I'min the bubble of sport, but the
congratulations and theexcitement from people across
the sector for that investmentwas huge.
Laura Youngson (27:15):
It was really lovely to kind of be able to
share it and then see the impactit had.
I mean for me, for our business.
It's fantastic, right, so it isliterally game changing.
But I think what I wanted toshow as well is that women's
businesses are investable and,because the stats are really
woeful, it's somewhere betweenlike two and four percent of
(27:35):
funding goes to women and, yeah,I look around and I see all
these women with livedexperiences, often great
networks and great businessexperience setting up these
businesses, but unable to getthe funding they need to scale.
And so, even if, by having thatsort of proof point of like, no
, it's a great space to be inand, yes, you can find these
investable businesses, if we canhave a wider impact on the
(27:58):
investment landscape, for methat's fantastic as well and
encouraging other women to getinto the space and grow and
solve these problems that aren'tnecessarily going to be solved
by the existing businesses.
Sue Anstiss (28:11):
I was going to mention that because I've spoken
to so many fantastic femaleentrepreneurs in sport for this
latest series, but so many ofthem have mentioned you as a
supporter or as a mentor, justas a huge inspiration that's
given them encouragement.
So that clearly is an importantpart for you in terms of not
doing enough already, but alsoto be encouraging other women
(28:33):
too.
Laura Youngson (28:34):
Oh, yeah, totally.
I think it partly comes fromselfishness, like when I started
it was quite a lonely journeyand I was like, oh, there's no
one to talk to.
Well, we better make sure thatother people have a, have a
business, so we have some, havesome friends in the industry.
But I also think it's justindicative of the wider change
that I personally want to see.
Like okay, so I really hope itsucceeds and we continue to grow
(28:58):
.
But if it all goes, you know,tits up and doesn't work, what
else is the legacy?
And like what have you done tochange things and what can we do
along the way to change thingsand to help people out?
I think a lot of people thinkthat you should compete, and
I've had this from investors alot of times like, oh, you'll
never get all these femalefounders in a room together.
(29:19):
And I'm like, well, why not?
We all work together.
We're not the enemies here.
We're not trying to competeagainst each other.
We're trying to improve theecosystem, to make it easier for
everyone to to build thebusinesses and access capital
and and like get, reach athletesand have better solutions, and
who best to do it than thepeople who it's directly
(29:41):
impacting and affecting.
So I think for me it'sdefinitely something that's a
motivator and a driver to notonly focus on what I'm doing but
make sure that the whole systemis improving as it goes,
because you want it to make iteasier for whoever's coming
behind you.
Sue Anstiss (29:59):
And I really do feel that I've repeated that
across this series of thecollaboration that I've seen
from the women that are in thisspace.
And what advice would you give?
Because we're celebrating theinvestment that you've got, but
clearly it hasn't been an easyprocess to get from where you
were to there.
You've seen these gray hairssoon.
Laura Youngson (30:15):
Look at them.
I've got 100% more wrinklesthan I had earlier this year.
Sue Anstiss (30:20):
So what was the process like, the reality of
that process, to uh, to becelebrating a couple of weeks
ago, but what's it been like?
Laura Youngson (30:28):
um, a problem like, I don't know, soul
destroying, crushing, you hear.
I've heard no about 70 times.
I've had my businessmansplained to me quite a few
times.
I've had people tell me I'm notan expert in shoes but so many
sort of unnecessary like trialsand tribulations that you get
(30:49):
put through as a woman becauseyou're a woman yeah, totally,
you have to do more duediligence, hilariously, uh,
hammer.
So my husband works a bit onthe business, um, and we're both
very numerate.
I can say something about thefinances.
Uh, doesn't get picked up.
As soon as he says somethingeveryone's like, oh yes, he'll
say the exact same thing.
So it's really sad, but we playthe game and so now I'll defer
(31:13):
to him in order to talk aboutthe finances, because we know
that it will get through.
I mean, that's some of thestuff I'd love to change in the
future, because you know thatit's you're just like.
It's laughable.
To be honest, I've got ablimmin physics degree and yet
they don't believe me on numbers.
But it is how.
This is the nature of theecosystem at the moment, and I
(31:34):
was in a particularly sort ofcontentious listening to a
contentious panel which willmake some people laugh, but they
were sort of saying, oh well,yes, the best women just rise to
the top like cream, and I waslike, no, this is not how it
works.
Like you're not investing in,like this whole ecosystem, so
then you can be as good as youlike, but it's the system that's
(31:56):
holding you back.
You're not getting the, not thekind of numbers around, um,
female investments that we needto make it profitable anyway,
don't get me started.
It's a tough game out there,and this is also why it's really
nice to have the, the supportof the other female
entrepreneurs, because you canturn around and go oh, this is
awful, and this is what happenedto me and this is what you know
(32:16):
.
This is what I've had to put upwith, and I think where I've
landed is with some absolutelyfantastic investors that really
understand women's sportlandscape and really understand
where we're going um with it,and so it's it's incredible to
be backed by those people, andwe sort of sifted out, we have a
bit of a list of people thatyou shouldn't get invested in by
(32:37):
.
Sue Anstiss (32:37):
It's interesting though, isn't it?
Because actually, it's fabulouswhen you think of Michelle Kang
and Olivia Hall the women,those women back, but we don't
just want women to be backingthis amazing area that's growing
in the future too.
So how do we shift that makeupof those investors and open
their eyes to the potential?
(32:59):
Yeah, exactly.
Laura Youngson (33:02):
I think I hope deals like this at least enable
some of those people that areperhaps sitting on the fence to
go.
Oh no, I, I should.
The next time a company passesthrough that has this, this
potential, I should jump in asopposed to passing on it.
But I think it comes from thewhole cycle of sport in that the
more eyeballs there are on thetv, the more money that goes in
(33:25):
the brands backing it.
All of that increases theviability of the game and the
bit that we're playing is offwell on pitch.
But the ecosystem around it,all these women building
businesses that are supportingthe systems that help facilitate
the sport.
Sue Anstiss (33:43):
That's good.
I like that.
It makes me feel more hopefulof the positivity in that space
for the future too.
Laura Youngson (33:49):
I'm hopeful and, to be honest, if they don't,
then we'll just earn revenue,and revenue is the best form of
investment.
So just you know, look at theP&L we're cool with that.
Sue Anstiss (34:01):
I'm a little loathe to ask you this because I don't
think I would ask it of a maleentrepreneur, but you've become
a mother as the business hasgrown and in fact, you've just
recently had your third baby.
So I just wonder whether thathas impacted your approach to
the business and the way thatyou work.
Laura Youngson (34:16):
Oh, yes, totally , I drink more wine.
No, it's really beenfascinating birthing lots of
babies, one of which is abusiness, and it's very similar
stages.
At one point I had my toddlerand it was very similar to
having a business, though it wasalways answering back and it
(34:38):
was very stubborn.
It's like, oh, there's somereal parallels here.
But I think I mean, other thantrying to get lots of sleep,
which is the complete oppositeof all those people that do 5am,
and I can't do that just tohave lots of sleep.
The key thing that keeps me saneis just, it's like super
ruthless prioritization.
So you know, if you get onething done today, what's it
(34:59):
going to be?
That's going to turn the dialon the business, and so I um, I
wouldn't say I've got the bestbalance.
I'm always thinking, oh, I needto spend more time with my kids
, I need to spend more time onthe business.
But I think they see me runningthe business and they get
inspired, as my eldest is fiveand he was like I caught him at
(35:19):
the laptop one day.
And what are you doing?
Oh, I'm, I'm making shoes, likethat's obviously gone in there.
You know, like you've absorbedmy work.
So whatever I'm doing.
I'm obviously having an impacton their lives as well, but
hopefully they get to see thatyou don't just sort of sit down
(35:40):
and accept things, that you cango and go and change things if
you want to.
Sue Anstiss (35:44):
And do you feel it's impacted other people's
views of you as an entrepreneur,being a mother and also, I mean
I've been in events whereyou've been very pregnant,
standing up in a dressing in theHouse of Commons I think that
was.
You were very pregnant there,wasn't it?
Laura Youngson (35:59):
Yeah, I did have a couple of people saying like,
when are you not pregnant?
And I was like you're all right, calm down.
Baby factory is closed, um, butthe I think it.
For me it's just part andparcel of it.
Right, like you trying to bevisible, what else are you going
to do?
Like we all had covid where wewere at home and stuck in this
(36:20):
and I think sort of I, Igenuinely feel like the working
from home movement hasenfranchised loads more women to
be part of the workplace.
We would never have got oursales contracts and I wouldn't
have been able to have kids atthe same time if we had to fly
everywhere all the time.
It's just, it's not possible.
Whereas I can take a Zoom calland then go and feed a baby, or
(36:42):
do a podcast and go and feed ababy, and then you're still the
same human, you're still thesame person, but you're just
also balancing looking after akid as well, but there's so many
people doing the juggle.
It's quite amazing and I haveto say I wouldn't be able to do
it without my husband, who haschanged his job in order to
(37:05):
allow Ida to grow and enable itto grow.
So we made a decision as afamily that we would pursue this
, because it it has suchfar-reaching consequences and
you need need this villagearound you to help if you're
going to a do the stupid thingof being an entrepreneur and
then b have children at the sametime as being an entrepreneur I
(37:26):
think it's so true, isn't it?
Sue Anstiss (37:27):
and I'm so pleased you mentioned that, because
actually that's something Ioften my husband stopped work
and was at home raising the kidswhen we I had the third, my
third baby, and actually Iwouldn't have done what I'd done
without having him there tosupport me.
I think sometimes that whole wecan do it all and we, yeah, we
can, but at what?
Laura Youngson (37:45):
cost of lives and relationships and so on too,
yeah, and and you need time forworld records, so yeah and in
terms of Ida, is there anythingyou can share?
Sue Anstiss (37:56):
not breaking any secrets here on the podcast, but
is there anything you can sharein terms of future developments
and expanding beyond football?
What any plans at?
Laura Youngson (38:04):
all, yeah, oh, so many exciting things.
So one of the coolest thingsfor me is that we put in place
about a year ago so a lot ofproduct changes that are coming
to fruition next year.
So we have learned loads fromall our consumers over the last
four or five years and we'reputting those into new shoes.
So one of the cool thingsthat's happening this spring is
(38:25):
we're getting youth shoes, andthat's directly as a result of
all the dads and mums messagingus and saying, hey, love your
shoes for my older kid, can weget them for our younger kids?
So they're coming out and theylook so cool and I'm so excited
for those.
And then the other excitingthing we've completely kind of
redone our products and so oneof the additions we're making so
(38:48):
, other than having a truly proboot so incredibly lightweight,
very fast, that kind of thingwe're actually branching out
into rugby as well, which I'mvery excited about.
So, as you you saw, havinggrown up in gloucester, big
rugby fan and we've been doing areally awesome project,
actually funded, a researchproject funded by the UK
government, to go and scan thefeet of all the premiership
(39:11):
rugby players and the women'steams, and that's been amazing
because we've been able to talkto all the players and actually
ask them what they want and whatpain and discomfort they've got
at the moment and and what theyactually need as players.
So all of those insights aregetting placed into a shoe as we
speak how exciting have therebeen female rugby boots in the
(39:32):
past?
Sue Anstiss (39:33):
no, no, I'm thinking there's just some pink
ones again, there's some withflowers, and yeah, it's nothing.
Laura Youngson (39:40):
That's been really what we'd say is a true
female boot that really takesinto account kind of the shape,
the fit, the outsoles, the, themovements that players need on
the pitch.
So I'm really excited to seewhat's going to be happening
there that's huge, isn't it?
Sue Anstiss (39:56):
so when might that be?
When might people see thosecome true?
Laura Youngson (39:59):
no pressure I've got some well, we've got some
really exciting news for the sixnations, so watch this space,
okay, oh, it's fantastic.
Sue Anstiss (40:07):
And and just finally, in terms of advice and
I know you've given a lot ofadvice, no, but advice to other
women and people fromunderrepresented groups who
might be interested in productinnovation in the sports
industry.
What would you like to leavepeople with?
Laura Youngson (40:21):
oh um, get on with it.
Start now, now, start yesterday, because what you're probably
inventing or coming up with isdefinitely needed, because
there's so much space to createaround here.
You think the problems aresolved, and they really aren't.
The more you dig into it, themore you see that there's you
know, people are still wearingbaggy, kits and shorts rolled up
(40:43):
and there's space forinnovation.
But I think the other thingthat I always talk to people
about is that you don't have toquit your job straight away.
I do that if it makes you happy, but actually start tinkering
on the side, and I liken runningyour own business to kind of
this is the physics right, likein running your own business to
to being sucked into a blackhole.
You know you're sort of justgliding towards it and then at
(41:05):
some point you just tip over theedge and you can't get back,
and so don't quit your job untilyou've kind of fallen through
the event horizon.
Sue Anstiss (41:18):
If you'd like to hear from more trailblazers like
Laura.
There are over 200 episodes ofthe Game Changers that are all
free to listen to on podcastplatforms or from our website at
fearlesswomencouk.
Along with entrepreneurs likeLaura, my other guests have
included elite athletes, coaches, broadcasters, scientists,
journalists and CEOs all womenwho are changing the game in
(41:42):
sport.
As well as listening to all thepodcasts on the website, you
also find out more about thewomen's sport collective, a free
, inclusive community for allwomen working in sport.
We now have over eight and ahalf thousand members across the
world, so please do come andjoin us.
The whole of my book game onthe unstoppable rise of women's
(42:03):
sport is also free to listen toon the podcast.
Every episode of Series 13 is mereading a chapter of the book.
Thank you once again to SportEngland for backing the Game
Changers and the Women's SportCollective with a National
Lottery Award, and Sam Walker atwhat Goes On Media, who does
such a brilliant job as ourexecutive producer.
(42:25):
Thank you also to my lovelycolleague at Fearless Women,
kate Hannan.
You can find the Game Changerson all podcast platforms, so do
follow us now to ensure youdon't miss out on future
episodes.
Come and say hello on socialmedia, where you'll find me at
Sue Anstis.
(42:46):
The Game Changers Fearlesswomen in sport.
Hello and welcome to The Game Changers.
I'm Sue Anstiss, and this isthe podcast where you'll hear
from trailblazing women in sportwho are knocking down barriers
and challenging the status quofor women and girls everywhere.
What can we learn from theirjourneys as we explore key
issues around equality in sportand beyond?
I'd like to start with a verybig thank you to our partners,
(00:24):
Sport England, who support TheGame Changers podcast through a
national lottery award.
I'm excited to say that in this, the 18th series of T he Game
Changers, I'm talking tofounders and entrepreneurs the
women who have set uporganisations that help change
the landscape for all women andgirls in sport.
My guest today is LauraYoungson.
(00:48):
Laura is the co-founder of IdaSports and a huge advocate for
gender equality.
Laura previously worked as asenior policy advisor for the UK
Department of Business,innovation and Skills and in
event management for majorsports events like the London
Olympics and the European Games.
In 2017, Laura led a group ofwomen to the top of Kilimanjaro
(01:10):
to play a record-breakingfootball match with equal
playing field.
The trip highlighted a commonproblem facing female players
all over the world that theirboots were made for men or
children and left their feet inpain long after the final
whistle blew, Laura went on toco-found Ida Sports, which
launched its first football bootfor female players in 2020, and
(01:33):
since that time, the brandscontinue to innovate and drive
change in the sector, and I'mdelighted to say that it's just
been announced that Ida hasreceived $2 million of
investment funding.
So, Laura, you've had such adiverse and fascinating career,
but where did it all start foryou?
Can you tell us about where yougrew up and how sport was a
(01:54):
part of your young?
Laura Youngson (01:56):
life.
So I grew up in Gloucester,actually in the southwest of
England very sort of regularchildhood, but spent a lot of it
outdoors and we're very luckyto have the Forest of Dean on
our doorstep, um, here.
So, just you know, get outside,go play in the mud, go cycle,
go do these things.
And at school I I played a lotof sport.
(02:16):
I was really passionate aboutballet growing up, so I did a
lot of ballet, um, and almostwent down that route as a career
, but actually decided onphysics, which is another story.
But, yeah, got to play in allthe school teams and was one of
those kids that the teacherswould be like hey, we need to
make up the numbers on whateverteam.
(02:37):
Here you go, have fun.
So I had a couple of memorableexperiences, like playing the
number two for England atbadminton when I was about 13.
I hadn't really playedbadminton, you know.
So give it a go, got a coupleof points, and that my mum was
very proud, uh, that I could dothat you mentioned the physics
there, but your education wasreally diverse too.
Sue Anstiss (02:57):
So you've got a master's in entrepreneurship
from the University of Melbourneand a master's in physics from
Durham University.
So what were your?
What were your career plans?
Laura Youngson (03:06):
I didn't really think much further than
university, to be honest, butI've always loved politics with
a small p, and so after Igraduated, I got a job with the
fast stream, the civil servicefast stream, so which you go and
work for the governmentdepartments, and that was a
really cool experience becauseyou get to meet lots of
interesting people and you getrotated around the department,
(03:27):
so you get to learn all abouthow the machinery of government
works, and it was a reallyfascinating time because we were
about to have a change ofgovernment from Labour to
Conservative.
I started when it was thefinancial crisis, so again,
there's all these pressures thatyou're living through, and so,
to be kind of at the start of mycareer, learning about
government and those experienceswas amazing and I got some
(03:51):
great opportunities.
So there was an opportunity Iwent and worked in the embassy
in Sao Paulo or the consulate inSao Paulo, and one of the cool
projects I worked on wasbringing genetically modified
mosquitoes to clinical trials inBrazil.
So that was pretty cool.
And then then had thisopportunity when I got back that
they said, hey, we're lookingfor secondes to go work on
London 2012 the Olympics and soI was like, oh yeah, pick me,
(04:14):
pick me, and so ended upspending a year in that
organization, which was amazing,getting to work with all the
diplomats and just oversee thepreparations for this incredible
event that took over London.
Sue Anstiss (04:29):
And how did your career progress from there then,
in terms of onwards from London2012?
Laura Youngson (04:35):
Well, I have a habit of shaking things up if it
gets too ordinary.
So actually my now husband andI we went to work and run a
hotel in Mozambique for a year.
So actually my now husband andI we went to work and run a
hotel in Mozambique for a yearwhich was like faulty towers in
the sunshine Just an amazinglybeautiful place, just incredibly
difficult to run because you'rethree hours from the nearest
(04:56):
city, five star guests, but withkind of I don't know very
rustic, like a sand road to getto the hotel and that kind of
thing.
So I think I learned aboutseven years of life in that one
year from doing that, so thesekind of really fun, challenging
experiences and got offered theopportunity to go and work for a
(05:17):
year in Azerbaijan on theEuropean Games and that was
amazing as well.
Just for any of the sport peoplethat worked there.
It was just a fascinatinginsight into a country that was
rapidly changing and very youngpopulation that were getting
trained with all the skills thatnow you see them as a power
that runs multiple sportingevents.
So spending time in lots ofthese different cultures I think
(05:39):
has been for me like a superfascinating part of my career
being able to learn newlanguages, generally have a
little bit of knowledge I callmyself a Jill of all trades a
little bit of knowledge abouteverything, not too deep on
anything other than shoes, buteverything else.
So I guess I'm pretty sure I'vecome across that at some point
in my career in the introduction.
Sue Anstiss (06:05):
there In 2017, you led a group of women to the top
of Mount Kilimanjaro to play arecord-breaking game of football
, which went on to become thehighest altitude game of
football ever played, and set aGuinness World Record in the
process too.
So what led you to that?
How do you come about settingsomething like that up?
Laura Youngson (06:18):
Yeah, it's one of those.
I have these ideas and theyjust pop into my head sometimes
and this one had been sort of Iwas so fed up with just seeing,
I think I saw a stat thatthere's more stories about
horses than women in the sportspages and I was like, oh, are
you kidding me?
Like is this going to change inmy lifetime?
Because where are my heroesthat I get to to read about?
(06:38):
I really love women's sport.
What can we do?
And so I called up a friend andwe sort of I had this idea like
, oh, we should go do something.
Great you know what?
We'll go and play football atthe top of Kilimanjaro.
That will show them.
And we like we don't really knowwho they were and who we were
at that point, but as soon as itkind of started snowballing, we
were put in touch with womenacross the world.
(07:01):
So we ended up taking peoplefrom sort of 30 nationalities,
all different levels of the game, absolutely like a wonderful
mix of people from across thespectrum of of global football,
and to try and do something thathad never been done before.
And and I think I had thismoment when the goals hadn't
arrived and we were two days outfrom playing the match and they
(07:22):
were getting sort of careeredup the hill because you had to
take everything up and then takeeverything down because it's a
national park.
And I was just sort of sittingthere looking out and I was like
what the hell have I done?
Like, what am I doing?
I've convinced like 60 peopleto come climb a mountain to play
a football game.
It just like are we crazy?
But it was such a testament tothe strength of the group that
(07:46):
it was never in doubt.
Everyone was just like nope,we're going to do it.
It's really hard, we're goingto make it happen and made such
a wonderful impact as a resultof it.
So, yeah, I kind of describeworld records as my side hobby.
Now.
It's a thing we do to have funand relax.
Sue Anstiss (08:02):
I love hearing from the women that have been on
those record-breaking eventswith you.
I think the connections you'vebuilt, the women I've come
across just across the sector inthe years that have been
involved in them as well too.
Laura Youngson (08:14):
I think it's been life-changing for a lot of
people.
We sort of keep in touch withwhoever came through to the
records and I found it reallyhilarious because I was in on a
zoom call with someone even justsort of recently and and they
had their medal from one of oneof the world records and I was
like wait, did you, have youdone a world record?
Sue Anstiss (08:32):
yeah, that's brilliant and uh so it's just
amazing kind of seeing wherethose connections have led and I
know we often talk about originstories and I kind of see that
linked to the development of Ida, but was it from that event
that you were inspired to createa female football boot?
Laura Youngson (08:50):
It was one of those spaces and times when
there was no signal on themountain, and so you get there
very few times, when youcompletely disconnect from the
modern world, and so we had totalk to each other and it was
this.
We had these wonderfulconversations and one of the
things that sort of kept comingup for me was this niggle of
like I would always be.
I was so annoyed that I washaving to wear kid shoes to play
(09:12):
on a world record match and Iwas chatting to all these
players and just everyone kindof came up with was saying the
same things and I was startingto think well, it's not just me,
it's someone else as wellthat's having this experience,
and then, kind of off the backof going, oh, we've just
organized a record game, now wecan do anything.
I think that's what led me tobe like oh well, I'll just start
a shoe company, you know, thenwe'll solve that easy.
Sue Anstiss (09:36):
But hindsight's obviously slightly different and
how did we get to 2020 beforesomebody had done that?
I was thinking more about thisbefore talking to you.
There's clearly a huge marketin female running shoes, and if
I went into a sport shop now, ifI went into a shoe shop, I
wouldn't shop in the men'saisles, I would shop for women's
shoes.
So why had no one thought tocreate a football boot for women
(10:00):
?
Laura Youngson (10:00):
It's really been a mixture of sort of the men's
game was so dominant.
Women were just always thisafterthought, like, oh, did
women play?
I don't know, I don't know, youknow, that was that sort of
attitude towards it, whereas thepeople that were playing were
really enjoying the game.
You could see it bubbling up,like it.
To me it's no surprise that weended up with sold out crowds at
(10:22):
the euros.
It was like years in the makingthis popularity of the game,
but I think it was.
I spoke to some peopleafterwards and and they tried to
do a boot at nike in the sortof late 90s, and I spoke to the
sort of researchers who were abit traumatized by the
experience because they theymade a shoe but they made it
pink.
Then the athlete didn't want towear it and you're like, well,
(10:43):
yeah, duh, um, there's sort oflike I wouldn't draw the
conclusion that the the shoeisn't needed.
I'd perhaps draw it that itdoesn't need to be pink, but I
think there's a mixture of thetiming being right that the game
was growing.
There was also definitely amovement of people starting to
not put up with it, like, oh,I'm having to wear rolled up boy
(11:05):
shorts, although arguably thisstill happens, and then just
this timing of like, I think itcaught a lot the bigger brands
on a bit unawares, but for me itseemed like such a logical
thing.
Like we have women's runningshoes, so scientifically we need
different shoes, why aren'tthere football and and it's I'm
picking into that kind ofsocietal reasons that really,
(11:28):
even more so than the science,led me down this path of like,
well, we, we need to have thisand it does seem very obvious
from a young girl's perspective.
Sue Anstiss (11:36):
If you went into a shoe shop right now, what would
their experience be like to findtheir, their boots?
Laura Youngson (11:42):
well, it's still you see, you've got men's,
you've got kids, and often ifthey ask, oh, have you got
women's or girls?
No, or maybe.
Or there's sort of this unisexshoe that's pink and it is
starting to change, but I justthink it must be so
disheartening if you're a 10year old and you're going in and
(12:03):
you want it to be thisincredibly special experience in
the sport that you're playing,that you love, in this sport
that you're playing that youlove, um, and instead you're
faced with kind of likeindifference or something that
oh well, try this, it's theleast worst option.
Um, I don't see how that'sinspiring for someone to stay in
the sport and and especiallyknowing what we know about kind
(12:24):
of teenage girls dropping out ata higher rate um, and you want
to build that lifelong passionfor sport.
I mean, this is why I startedthe business to try and change
just even that expectation ofwhat it is to be a female
footballer.
Sue Anstiss (12:38):
And what are the key differences in terms of the
design differences, from an Idaboot to a traditional men's
football boot?
Laura Youngson (12:46):
So some of the stuff that I researched at the
very beginning was very muchavailable in the public domain.
So women in general tend tohave narrower heels, um, so we
slip around in the men's shoes.
We tend to have wider toe box,or the shape of our foot is
different, and so that manifestsitself as like pain in your
little toe, tend to have higherarches, so the insoles don't
(13:09):
necessarily provide you thesupport.
And then the biggest one thatreally kind of was like oh yeah,
duh moment for me was our hipsare different.
They're set further apart thanmen's in general, and so how
you're interacting with theground, especially when you're
wearing studs, has to bedifferent, because you're you're
landing differently, how womenjump and land is different, and
(13:30):
so there's a lot of kind of Iwould call it like basic science
that made me think well, look,we need something different for
female physiology and weobviously are hearing more and
more now about acl injuries.
Sue Anstiss (13:45):
It feels like it's becoming more widely discussed,
but obviously an issue for along, long time anyway.
But how much do you think thatis around that boot to surface
connection or other causes too?
Laura Youngson (13:57):
So it's really like a mix of factors and that's
what everyone's trying tounderstand at the moment and I
think, where I come at it,there's stuff that you can do to
like fifa 11 plus is shown asone of the best training like
preventative methods to reducethe risk of acl and that's sort
of your neuromuscular strengthand conditioning.
(14:19):
I think, where we come at it, wewant to know the most about
surfaces and boots, and I'veseen so much innovation that can
be made in shoes to reduce therisk of non-contact ACLs and
that's what we're putting thattech into our shoes.
It might not be the biggestfactor, but there's definitely.
If you're looking at increasingperformance and reducing your
(14:42):
risks, then you should belooking at everything and that's
one of the elements of it.
So I think that we could.
If everyone's wearing stuffthat's made of the the elements
of it, so I think that we could.
If everyone's wearing stuffthat's made for them, I think we
are going to start to see areduction in risk.
I don't think you're ever goingto eliminate it, but it's.
I think if you're able to getbring some of those numbers down
.
Sue Anstiss (15:01):
That's really what everyone's trying to do and, as
you say, we are seeing moreresearch now.
So from FIFA and UEFA there is.
It does feel like peopletalking about there's more
investment going in there.
Is it enough, and what morewould you like to see in that
space?
Laura Youngson (15:15):
It's almost like we're just scratching the
surface.
So I don't know if you saw oryour listeners have heard of the
European Club Association didan amazing study where they they
went and looked at all theprofessional female players
across Europe and establishedthat 82% have pain or discomfort
with their boots when they play.
So then, okay, well, this is awidespread problem, it's not
just a small amount of people.
(15:37):
And then you sort of go well,what's the answer?
And then what about this andwhat about this element?
And I think it's all of thosekind of questions that we've
only just started scratching thesurface and we've got the
headline, which is quiteshocking.
But then you need the fundingto then get the answers and go
to your point.
Is it your menstrual cycle, oris it your shoes, or is it a
(15:59):
combination of these things?
And what does that actually meanfor you personally?
Because your physiologicalresponse might be quite
different to someone else's.
In that sense, the fact thatthere is still this ambiguity
around the problem means thatthere should be more investment,
because then I think I mean, atthe end of the day, everyone
just kind of wants to get on andplay right, but if you're
(16:22):
having all these barriers andall these kind of areas that are
without your control, then it'sreally hard to get to that
point where you're just playingand enjoying the game when
you're having to think, oh well,wait, do I need to wear this
and what do I need to thinkabout here?
And you know, am I wearing theright kit and all of these
things?
So I'm sure that if we didinvest further, like you're
(16:44):
going to see massive strikes inthe in, in what we know is a as
a kind of set of humans and whatwas the process like from when
you had your idea and you kindof created and designed the shoe
to actually having your firstprototype?
yeah, it's really funny.
It are the first shoe I cookedin the kitchen.
(17:07):
This is proper shoe dog story,and you know like made a mold
and then worked out what was theoutsole and did this and we now
call it the franken shoebecause it looks so horrendous.
Um, and this, this wonderfulfranken shoe, has been on tour
to like the design museum andthe fifa museum and things like
this.
I always look at it.
I'm like, oh, it looks sohorrendous.
(17:29):
But basically, when you're, whenyou're building a product,
first thing kind of get aprototype, but then you really
need to quite quickly find somemanufacturing partners and
there's a lot of elements ofshoe making that I've learned
along the way that really makeit so crucial.
So, step one you need a last,which is the mold around which
you build the shoe, and you needto what your outside is going
(17:49):
to look like, what the patternis for the upper, what different
materials making all thosechoices.
So I actually I went to CantonFair in China when I began,
which is this huge, huge fair,and and just literally walked
the halls and learned aboutshoes and I spent all my time
asking questions and learningabout materials and learning
(18:09):
about the different propertiesand why someone was doing a
particular thing andsimultaneously just reading lots
of scientific papers and doinga bunch of measurements in order
to kind of go, hey, all right,this isn't the answer.
This is my answer that I thinkis better than whatever is out
there at the moment, and we'vecome a long way since that first
(18:31):
prototype.
But it's really that researchand discovery phase, that
learning from first principles,like, okay, let's try something
that hasn't been done before.
How do we build it together andput together an idea?
Sue Anstiss (18:43):
And how much did your background in physics and
your kind of researching help inthat process?
Do you feel?
I think super valuable.
Laura Youngson (18:50):
So studying physics means you're not really
scared of problems, because youjust have to keep breaking them
down to their constituent partsand everything is ultimately
solvable, you hope, and so I amnot scared of a science paper.
I know enough to be dangerous,right.
So I can keep asking why I'vegot other people around me who
(19:11):
have much more expertise.
But I can keep being annoyingand asking why, until the point
when either there is an answeror there isn't an answer and we
actually need to go and find outwhat the answer is.
And similarly, when you'retalking about materials or what
properties that you're trying tocreate in the shoes, that's
where it becomes invaluable,because then you can sort of
design the protocols that you'retrying to create in the shoes.
That's where it becomesinvaluable, because then you can
(19:32):
sort of design the protocolsthat you need to test and to
make sure you're producingsomething that's really high
performance.
Sue Anstiss (19:39):
And where did the name and the logo come from?
Laura Youngson (19:42):
So we chose the name as a nod to Ida B Wells,
who's a civil rights activist inthe US.
And I was actually inWashington at the Smithsonian,
and I saw the exhibit for Ida BWells, who's a civil rights
activist in the US, and I wasactually in Washington at the
Smithsonian.
I saw the exhibit for Ida BWells and said, oh, this is so
exciting, the kind of it's notto like being an activist and
you know changing things andstanding up for what you believe
(20:03):
in.
And then we created the wavesymbol that is our logo as a nod
to the Kilimanjaro.
So the world records, somountains and our second world
record, the lowest altitudematch at the Dead Sea.
But then also this wave ofchange, a thread running between
it.
So can we bring everyonetogether and and have a wave of
(20:24):
change that it doesn't alwayscome at once.
You know it's.
It's pushing there at the tides, and, and you're getting these
ripple effects.
And so it's pushing there atthe tides and and you're getting
these ripple effects, and so itmight take time, but you're
bringing more and more peoplewith you.
Sue Anstiss (20:35):
I love that.
That's lovely.
And um, how did the rest of thesportswear footwear industry
respond to Ida coming into themarket?
Laura Youngson (20:46):
uh, well, we hear from our frenemies in the
brands, so some of them love us.
And especially, we've heardfrom a lot of frenemies who are
like we're so glad you exist,because we've been asking about
this for years.
And that's been reallywonderful because we've had a
lot of unsolicited help alongthe way from people that just
want the idea to exist and tocome to life.
And then we know that thebigger brands in some cases like
(21:10):
, obviously they try anddiscredit you or, you know, do
that.
I think at some point you justwant to be really annoying, you
know, get in the way and besuper, super annoying so that
things do actually change.
And we are starting to see that.
We heard that some of the themost recent, uh, big brand
developments were directly as aresult of IDA existing.
So that for me is a reallywonderful thing that, as a tiny
(21:35):
company, we can sway the biggestcorporations on this planet to
invest in female athletes andproduce gear that's really, you
know, fit for purpose.
Sue Anstiss (21:47):
I did see something about Nike designing a football
shoe with females in mind.
A process took up to threeyears, but it's really hard to
get that answer out into thepublic domain.
Laura Youngson (22:15):
But it's definitely been frustrating to
watch and obviously we call itout whenever we see it.
But if you're producingsomething that's made for women,
then you really need to make itdifferent to the thing that
you're producing that's made formen, because all of our
research is kind of pointing inthat direction.
You can't, on the one hand, saywomen and men are different and
in your running department, butthen say that they're exactly
(22:38):
the same when they run on afootball pitch that's so true,
isn't it?
Sue Anstiss (22:43):
I do remember when harlequins played the big game
at twickenham a couple of yearsago, the women's rugby team were
in this really ill-fitting,oversized kit and when the
manufacturer was called out onsocial media, they said it's
because they were unisex.
And then somebody respondedlike oh, I'd like to see Jo
Marlow in a women's size, 14,fit top, whatever.
How would he feel about that?
Laura Youngson (23:03):
not him particularly, but just like put
the men in women's kit then, ifit's truly unisex right, exactly
, I think there's there's justbeen such a disparity and
actually it doesn't need to belike that.
I think what we're proving isthat there's a commercial
proposition here, like we're nota charity.
I didn't start this business tobe like, oh yay, we're a
charity, we made wonderful shoes.
(23:24):
No, like, commercially, we wantto be taking market share and
proving that there is a marketfor women's products and gear
that's made for women.
Sue Anstiss (23:33):
And what's the response been like from the
retailers in terms of gettinglistings in those major
retailers?
What's that process been like?
Laura Youngson (23:41):
So in the US it's been fantastic, and so we
have a number of amazingretailers over there that we
work with.
So Dick's Sporting Goods is oneof the biggest ones.
They're, they're brilliantsoccercom, um, and we just
started branching out into abunch of others in the us and
it's been fantastic to grow withthem.
Their, their buyers are verymuch like yeah, we get this, we
(24:02):
see it and and we see oursell-throughs in the, in those
stores and online increasing.
Elsewhere in the world it's beenslower to change and especially
, I think the uk, for me, hasbeen really like particularly
disappointing up till now.
You just think you've been, Idon't know the, the, the
appetite should be there becausewe've had the euros and we've.
(24:23):
We get people asking us and andgoing into these sports stores
and that, like dad ofnine-year-old daughter goes into
sports store and can't findwhat he needs.
You know that happens on aweekly basis and yet they don't
really want to enter into theconversations.
So we're hoping that just keepgrowing, keep being annoying,
and then you can actually startto to reach into the retail
(24:44):
listing and get elsewhere.
But part of the, the challenge,is just kicking open the doors,
and so it's been interestingcomparing and contrasting the
maturity of the market in the USwith the UK and Europe as well.
Sue Anstiss (24:59):
It's a bit weird, though, isn't it, when you think
that you're the only.
For a long time, you're theonly brand that was in this
space.
You almost feel like your doorkicking down your door to get
you in, to diversify, as a newopportunity to sell more shoes.
Laura Youngson (25:13):
A hundred percent.
I mean, you couldn't have saidit better than yourself, and
that is the argument we do make.
But we find that more and morepeople are coming to the table
as we grow and as the biggerbrands start to produce or
attempt to produce.
Women's gear actually has abenefit, positive benefit for us
, because we find our searchesincrease and so pushing by every
(25:35):
means possible to change theindustry and change the market
and what is the hardest part foryou right now in terms of pinch
points?
Sue Anstiss (25:42):
is it around product development and listings
and growth and marketing?
You know, you know, I realizeit's all involved, isn't it?
But are there specific areas?
I mean up, and if you'd askedme a month ago, it's all
involved, isn't?
Laura Youngson (25:50):
it.
But are there specific areas?
I mean, if you'd asked me amonth ago, it's fundraising and
access to capital.
Well, fortunately we've raiseda round, which is amazing
because that enables us toactually invest in marketing and
invest in key areas forsell-through and the retailers.
But some of the biggest kind ofthings is just that access to
capital, trade financing, allthe things as a product company,
(26:11):
you need to think aboutlogistics operations, that kind
of things is just that access tocapital, trade financing, all
the things as a product company,you need to think about
logistics operations, that kindof stuff.
And so now we're just ensuringthat we get the word out.
So we've made great gear,people that buy it, love it,
wear it, give us great reviews,and so then it's about finding
more of those people who perhapseven haven't heard of us.
(26:31):
Us and if you're living in thesport bubble, you can sometimes
say, oh yeah, everyone's heardabout us, but actually there's
loads of people that are comingacross us as new customers and
going, oh wow, I didn't evenknow you were here.
This is amazing.
So that that's probably thebiggest thing that we're focused
on at the moment is justreaching more people, and then
they tell more people and youget this, this wonderful
(26:54):
virtuous circle where you canthen get into more retailers and
and at some point we will cracksome of the retailers here- and
massive congratulations ongetting that investment round.
Sue Anstiss (27:05):
I mean that is absolutely huge.
It was lovely, as you say, I'min the bubble of sport, but the
congratulations and theexcitement from people across
the sector for that investmentwas huge.
Laura Youngson (27:15):
It was really lovely to kind of be able to
share it and then see the impactit had.
I mean for me, for our business.
It's fantastic, right, so it isliterally game changing.
But I think what I wanted toshow as well is that women's
businesses are investable and,because the stats are really
woeful, it's somewhere betweenlike two and four percent of
(27:35):
funding goes to women and, yeah,I look around and I see all
these women with livedexperiences, often great
networks and great businessexperience setting up these
businesses, but unable to getthe funding they need to scale.
And so, even if, by having thatsort of proof point of like, no
, it's a great space to be inand, yes, you can find these
investable businesses, if we canhave a wider impact on the
(27:58):
investment landscape, for methat's fantastic as well and
encouraging other women to getinto the space and grow and
solve these problems that aren'tnecessarily going to be solved
by the existing businesses.
Sue Anstiss (28:11):
I was going to mention that because I've spoken
to so many fantastic femaleentrepreneurs in sport for this
latest series, but so many ofthem have mentioned you as a
supporter or as a mentor, justas a huge inspiration that's
given them encouragement.
So that clearly is an importantpart for you in terms of not
doing enough already, but alsoto be encouraging other women
(28:33):
too.
Laura Youngson (28:34):
Oh, yeah, totally.
I think it partly comes fromselfishness, like when I started
it was quite a lonely journeyand I was like, oh, there's no
one to talk to.
Well, we better make sure thatother people have a, have a
business, so we have some, havesome friends in the industry.
But I also think it's justindicative of the wider change
that I personally want to see.
Like okay, so I really hope itsucceeds and we continue to grow
(28:58):
.
But if it all goes, you know,tits up and doesn't work, what
else is the legacy?
And like what have you done tochange things and what can we do
along the way to change thingsand to help people out?
I think a lot of people thinkthat you should compete, and
I've had this from investors alot of times like, oh, you'll
never get all these femalefounders in a room together.
(29:19):
And I'm like, well, why not?
We all work together.
We're not the enemies here.
We're not trying to competeagainst each other.
We're trying to improve theecosystem, to make it easier for
everyone to to build thebusinesses and access capital
and and like get, reach athletesand have better solutions, and
who best to do it than thepeople who it's directly
(29:41):
impacting and affecting.
So I think for me it'sdefinitely something that's a
motivator and a driver to notonly focus on what I'm doing but
make sure that the whole systemis improving as it goes,
because you want it to make iteasier for whoever's coming
behind you.
Sue Anstiss (29:59):
And I really do feel that I've repeated that
across this series of thecollaboration that I've seen
from the women that are in thisspace.
And what advice would you give?
Because we're celebrating theinvestment that you've got, but
clearly it hasn't been an easyprocess to get from where you
were to there.
You've seen these gray hairssoon.
Laura Youngson (30:15):
Look at them.
I've got 100% more wrinklesthan I had earlier this year.
Sue Anstiss (30:20):
So what was the process like, the reality of
that process, to uh, to becelebrating a couple of weeks
ago, but what's it been like?
Laura Youngson (30:28):
um, a problem like, I don't know, soul
destroying, crushing, you hear.
I've heard no about 70 times.
I've had my businessmansplained to me quite a few
times.
I've had people tell me I'm notan expert in shoes but so many
sort of unnecessary like trialsand tribulations that you get
(30:49):
put through as a woman becauseyou're a woman yeah, totally,
you have to do more duediligence, hilariously, uh,
hammer.
So my husband works a bit onthe business, um, and we're both
very numerate.
I can say something about thefinances.
Uh, doesn't get picked up.
As soon as he says somethingeveryone's like, oh yes, he'll
say the exact same thing.
So it's really sad, but we playthe game and so now I'll defer
(31:13):
to him in order to talk aboutthe finances, because we know
that it will get through.
I mean, that's some of thestuff I'd love to change in the
future, because you know thatit's you're just like.
It's laughable.
To be honest, I've got ablimmin physics degree and yet
they don't believe me on numbers.
But it is how.
This is the nature of theecosystem at the moment, and I
(31:34):
was in a particularly sort ofcontentious listening to a
contentious panel which willmake some people laugh, but they
were sort of saying, oh well,yes, the best women just rise to
the top like cream, and I waslike, no, this is not how it
works.
Like you're not investing in,like this whole ecosystem, so
then you can be as good as youlike, but it's the system that's
(31:56):
holding you back.
You're not getting the, not thekind of numbers around, um,
female investments that we needto make it profitable anyway,
don't get me started.
It's a tough game out there,and this is also why it's really
nice to have the, the supportof the other female
entrepreneurs, because you canturn around and go oh, this is
awful, and this is what happenedto me and this is what you know
(32:16):
.
This is what I've had to put upwith, and I think where I've
landed is with some absolutelyfantastic investors that really
understand women's sportlandscape and really understand
where we're going um with it,and so it's it's incredible to
be backed by those people, andwe sort of sifted out, we have a
bit of a list of people thatyou shouldn't get invested in by
(32:37):
.
Sue Anstiss (32:37):
It's interesting though, isn't it?
Because actually, it's fabulouswhen you think of Michelle Kang
and Olivia Hall the women,those women back, but we don't
just want women to be backingthis amazing area that's growing
in the future too.
So how do we shift that makeupof those investors and open
their eyes to the potential?
(32:59):
Yeah, exactly.
Laura Youngson (33:02):
I think I hope deals like this at least enable
some of those people that areperhaps sitting on the fence to
go.
Oh no, I, I should.
The next time a company passesthrough that has this, this
potential, I should jump in asopposed to passing on it.
But I think it comes from thewhole cycle of sport in that the
more eyeballs there are on thetv, the more money that goes in
(33:25):
the brands backing it.
All of that increases theviability of the game and the
bit that we're playing is offwell on pitch.
But the ecosystem around it,all these women building
businesses that are supportingthe systems that help facilitate
the sport.
Sue Anstiss (33:43):
That's good.
I like that.
It makes me feel more hopefulof the positivity in that space
for the future too.
Laura Youngson (33:49):
I'm hopeful and, to be honest, if they don't,
then we'll just earn revenue,and revenue is the best form of
investment.
So just you know, look at theP&L we're cool with that.
Sue Anstiss (34:01):
I'm a little loathe to ask you this because I don't
think I would ask it of a maleentrepreneur, but you've become
a mother as the business hasgrown and in fact, you've just
recently had your third baby.
So I just wonder whether thathas impacted your approach to
the business and the way thatyou work.
Laura Youngson (34:16):
Oh, yes, totally , I drink more wine.
No, it's really beenfascinating birthing lots of
babies, one of which is abusiness, and it's very similar
stages.
At one point I had my toddlerand it was very similar to
having a business, though it wasalways answering back and it
(34:38):
was very stubborn.
It's like, oh, there's somereal parallels here.
But I think I mean, other thantrying to get lots of sleep,
which is the complete oppositeof all those people that do 5am,
and I can't do that just tohave lots of sleep.
The key thing that keeps me saneis just, it's like super
ruthless prioritization.
So you know, if you get onething done today, what's it
(34:59):
going to be?
That's going to turn the dialon the business, and so I um, I
wouldn't say I've got the bestbalance.
I'm always thinking, oh, I needto spend more time with my kids
, I need to spend more time onthe business.
But I think they see me runningthe business and they get
inspired, as my eldest is fiveand he was like I caught him at
(35:19):
the laptop one day.
And what are you doing?
Oh, I'm, I'm making shoes, likethat's obviously gone in there.
You know, like you've absorbedmy work.
So whatever I'm doing.
I'm obviously having an impacton their lives as well, but
hopefully they get to see thatyou don't just sort of sit down
(35:40):
and accept things, that you cango and go and change things if
you want to.
Sue Anstiss (35:44):
And do you feel it's impacted other people's
views of you as an entrepreneur,being a mother and also, I mean
I've been in events whereyou've been very pregnant,
standing up in a dressing in theHouse of Commons I think that
was.
You were very pregnant there,wasn't it?
Laura Youngson (35:59):
Yeah, I did have a couple of people saying like,
when are you not pregnant?
And I was like you're all right, calm down.
Baby factory is closed, um, butthe I think it.
For me it's just part andparcel of it.
Right, like you trying to bevisible, what else are you going
to do?
Like we all had covid where wewere at home and stuck in this
(36:20):
and I think sort of I, Igenuinely feel like the working
from home movement hasenfranchised loads more women to
be part of the workplace.
We would never have got oursales contracts and I wouldn't
have been able to have kids atthe same time if we had to fly
everywhere all the time.
It's just, it's not possible.
Whereas I can take a Zoom calland then go and feed a baby, or
(36:42):
do a podcast and go and feed ababy, and then you're still the
same human, you're still thesame person, but you're just
also balancing looking after akid as well, but there's so many
people doing the juggle.
It's quite amazing and I haveto say I wouldn't be able to do
it without my husband, who haschanged his job in order to
(37:05):
allow Ida to grow and enable itto grow.
So we made a decision as afamily that we would pursue this
, because it it has suchfar-reaching consequences and
you need need this villagearound you to help if you're
going to a do the stupid thingof being an entrepreneur and
then b have children at the sametime as being an entrepreneur I
(37:26):
think it's so true, isn't it?
Sue Anstiss (37:27):
and I'm so pleased you mentioned that, because
actually that's something Ioften my husband stopped work
and was at home raising the kidswhen we I had the third, my
third baby, and actually Iwouldn't have done what I'd done
without having him there tosupport me.
I think sometimes that whole wecan do it all and we, yeah, we
can, but at what?
Laura Youngson (37:45):
cost of lives and relationships and so on too,
yeah, and and you need time forworld records, so yeah and in
terms of Ida, is there anythingyou can share?
Sue Anstiss (37:56):
not breaking any secrets here on the podcast, but
is there anything you can sharein terms of future developments
and expanding beyond football?
What any plans at?
Laura Youngson (38:04):
all, yeah, oh, so many exciting things.
So one of the coolest thingsfor me is that we put in place
about a year ago so a lot ofproduct changes that are coming
to fruition next year.
So we have learned loads fromall our consumers over the last
four or five years and we'reputting those into new shoes.
So one of the cool thingsthat's happening this spring is
(38:25):
we're getting youth shoes, andthat's directly as a result of
all the dads and mums messagingus and saying, hey, love your
shoes for my older kid, can weget them for our younger kids?
So they're coming out and theylook so cool and I'm so excited
for those.
And then the other excitingthing we've completely kind of
redone our products and so oneof the additions we're making so
(38:48):
, other than having a truly proboot so incredibly lightweight,
very fast, that kind of thingwe're actually branching out
into rugby as well, which I'mvery excited about.
So, as you you saw, havinggrown up in gloucester, big
rugby fan and we've been doing areally awesome project,
actually funded, a researchproject funded by the UK
government, to go and scan thefeet of all the premiership
(39:11):
rugby players and the women'steams, and that's been amazing
because we've been able to talkto all the players and actually
ask them what they want and whatpain and discomfort they've got
at the moment and and what theyactually need as players.
So all of those insights aregetting placed into a shoe as we
speak how exciting have therebeen female rugby boots in the
(39:32):
past?
Sue Anstiss (39:33):
no, no, I'm thinking there's just some pink
ones again, there's some withflowers, and yeah, it's nothing.
Laura Youngson (39:40):
That's been really what we'd say is a true
female boot that really takesinto account kind of the shape,
the fit, the outsoles, the, themovements that players need on
the pitch.
So I'm really excited to seewhat's going to be happening
there that's huge, isn't it?
Sue Anstiss (39:56):
so when might that be?
When might people see thosecome true?
Laura Youngson (39:59):
no pressure I've got some well, we've got some
really exciting news for the sixnations, so watch this space,
okay, oh, it's fantastic.
Sue Anstiss (40:07):
And and just finally, in terms of advice and
I know you've given a lot ofadvice, no, but advice to other
women and people fromunderrepresented groups who
might be interested in productinnovation in the sports
industry.
What would you like to leavepeople with?
Laura Youngson (40:21):
oh um, get on with it.
Start now, now, start yesterday, because what you're probably
inventing or coming up with isdefinitely needed, because
there's so much space to createaround here.
You think the problems aresolved, and they really aren't.
The more you dig into it, themore you see that there's you
know, people are still wearingbaggy, kits and shorts rolled up
(40:43):
and there's space forinnovation.
But I think the other thingthat I always talk to people
about is that you don't have toquit your job straight away.
I do that if it makes you happy, but actually start tinkering
on the side, and I liken runningyour own business to kind of
this is the physics right, likein running your own business to
to being sucked into a blackhole.
You know you're sort of justgliding towards it and then at
(41:05):
some point you just tip over theedge and you can't get back,
and so don't quit your job untilyou've kind of fallen through
the event horizon.
Sue Anstiss (41:18):
If you'd like to hear from more trailblazers like
Laura.
There are over 200 episodes ofthe Game Changers that are all
free to listen to on podcastplatforms or from our website at
fearlesswomencouk.
Along with entrepreneurs likeLaura, my other guests have
included elite athletes, coaches, broadcasters, scientists,
journalists and CEOs all womenwho are changing the game in
(41:42):
sport.
As well as listening to all thepodcasts on the website, you
also find out more about thewomen's sport collective, a free
, inclusive community for allwomen working in sport.
We now have over eight and ahalf thousand members across the
world, so please do come andjoin us.
The whole of my book game onthe unstoppable rise of women's
(42:03):
sport is also free to listen toon the podcast.
Every episode of Series 13 is mereading a chapter of the book.
Thank you once again to SportEngland for backing the Game
Changers and the Women's SportCollective with a National
Lottery Award, and Sam Walker atwhat Goes On Media, who does
such a brilliant job as ourexecutive producer.
(42:25):
Thank you also to my lovelycolleague at Fearless Women,
kate Hannan.
You can find the Game Changerson all podcast platforms, so do
follow us now to ensure youdon't miss out on future
episodes.
Come and say hello on socialmedia, where you'll find me at
Sue Anstis.
(42:46):
The Game Changers Fearlesswomen in sport.
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